New Year, New Venue, New Routine for Writing Buddies!

Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House on December 7^th. This was to be an important session to discuss which direction the group should take in the new year, and there was a good attendance. At the same time it was the last meeting before Christmas, so wine and mince pies were laid on for us all.

Penny had circulated members to ask their views, and had collated the replies as well as laying plans herself. Everyone present gave their opinions and suggestions, and these are the decisions that were made.

•  The concept of ‘creeping death’, where each member spoke briefly about their recent writing, had been felt by some to be a little intimidating. Those who had not been working on specific projects could feel awkward. It was agreed to drop the name, and instead start future meetings with ‘Introductions and News’, where people could say who they are and what type of writing interests them, adding detail only if they wish.

•  Several members had been finding the current venue noisy at times, making it hard to concentrate or to hear others. Penny has therefore arranged for us to meet in future at The Dolphin Hotel in the High Street; she has found the manager keen to host us, and there is the restaurant area and quiet rooms available at no charge. This was felt by most to be an excellent choice. The venue could also be used to host book launches, rooms would usually be on the ground floor (otherwise there is a lift and disabled access), and refreshments are available.  Writing Buddies will be sorry to leave the Art House, which has looked after us well for two years, but needs must.  Writing Buddies thank the Art House staff for their hospitality over the years.

•  At some meetings there will be a focus topic for discussion, but meetings will remain informal and monthly on the first Friday – except that there will be no January meeting.

•  It had been mentioned that while we heartily welcome new members, they may sometimes raise topics that have been previously discussed at length. We thought there might be opportunities to provide links to internet resources, or a member could volunteer to meet with the newer Buddy after the meeting to answer any queries.

•  The blog will eventually have extra pages to vary the content, for example single-topic information by an appropriate person – self-publishing was mentioned, and tips for writing for magazines. Any members who would like to offer a specific page should get in touch with Penny.

We’ll meet again on Friday February 1^st at 2pm at The Dolphin Hotel, High Street, Southampton. Going through the Bargate, it’s about 300 metres south on the left. And finally, a successful and happy new year from Writing Buddies.

Blog notes by Jacqueline Pye

Writing Buddies 4 May 2012

Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House. Attendance was a little down on the usual level, as a number of Buddies had other commitments that day. Jimmy chaired the meeting in Penny's absence.

Filming is about to start on Mo’s short story, which is exciting.

Janet continues with her nursing-based stories; she has about five on the go at the moment.

Karen is forging ahead with her novel, but she has been struck with inspiration for a new story and a new direction for her writing. The group looks forward to hearing more about this.

Tessa has downloaded a programme called Kinstant for conversion purposes, and has published her novel Spellbinderfor kindle. Her Knitted Quilts and Flounces is now available. She is also working on a mystery novel, and suggested two possible titles to the group who showed a clear preference for one of them.

Jacob is working on the text for a game-based site, as well as developing his own board game.

Paul is looking for people who would read and comment on his pieces of short fiction. He is not yet sure how to categorise them in a single genre. He has had work published on Ether books.

Jacqueline has had two of her tweets published in the June edition of Cook Vegetarian magazine, and a book review printed in Self Publishing magazine. She is working on a short story for a competition, and planning how to publish her children’s ebook.

Jimmy’s preschool stories are nearly ready but still need adjustments to language. He is nearing completion with Not a Guide to Southampton, commissioned by The History Press. He has nearly the full quota of photographs, and has agreed a larger word count with the publisher. Councillor Royston Smith has agreed to write the foreword. Jimmy is also considering ways of publishing his Sundance Gang and fantasy novels.

Discussion topics included copyright issues for photographs, setting up and maintaining blogs and web sites, formatting and publishing ebooks, pricing and returns for ebooks, and Amazon’s Creative Space for self-publishing books.

The next meeting will be on Friday May 18^th at 2pm, as usual at The Art House, Above Bar, Southampton. Anyone interested in aspects of writing will be very welcome.

Blog notes by Jacqueline Pye

Writing Buddies - 27 January 2012

Writing Buddies met once again at The Art House Cafe in Southampton on January 27^th, 2012.

Tessa has now written her latest book, The Girl from the Land of Smiles, and is currently editing it. She has proofreaders ready, both locally and in Thailand, and the book should be published in the summer. She is also preparing to publish a book of paintings for her son.

New member Jo has always been a keen writer. She has concentrated on writing for business in the past, but is now planning a book about her trip to Mongolia. This project is proving complex, and the group discussed ways for Jo to produce the work, perhaps both as a travelogue and as the basis for fiction.

Karen is continuing with her novel, though she finds that since the story is so familiar already, she finds it hard to be consistent in writing. She plans to enter some flash fiction competitions in the meantime.

Janet is working on her nursing stories, using her background knowledge and also consulting relevant magazines.

Ray’s memoirs are still in progress; he has been working on them for some time, but mentioned that he finds the Writing Buddies meetings useful and motivating. This raised a cheer in the group!

Lynne, another new member, is a literature and language teacher and has always been an active writer. While training she had to critique other writing, and wonders if this has made her hypercritical with her own work. She made some useful suggestions in the discussions.

Mike still awaits a response from the publisher about his aviation book. He has a co-written book coming out in March, Shipwrecks of the Cunard Line.

Alan is halfway through his second mouse book for preschool children. He has also been working on sketches and a sitcom, helped by his experience on the comedy stage. The group thought there is a good current market for television comedy.

James is still hoping that the Daily Echo will review his book, Growing up in Wartime Southampton – Someone Else’s Trousers . He had a letter in the Echo that week, citing a relevant quote from his book, though the reference was removed before printing. The work may be made into an audio book. James continues with Southampton - a Miscellany and his books for young children, and plans to send off a Sundance Gang book to an agent recommended to him.

Jacqueline’s flash fiction piece about Miss Havisham will appear in the next edition of What the Dickens internet magazine, out on February 1^st. She has entered a short story competition online, and will be entering two flash fiction competitions. She has enrolled for an online short-story writing course, which starts next month.

Penny has been to the National Memorial Arboretum to take some final pictures for Under the Queen’s Colours, though the Royal British Legion has not given permission yet for their use. She has recently finished editing the first edition of the new magazine Life to the Full, and is hoping for offers of admin help and sponsorship to enable the second edition to be published. She has nearly finished her book Eastleigh Then and Now for The History Press.

The general discussion was wide-ranging. Topics included how to kick-start a stalled project, ways of keeping up motivation with writing, and whether a Buddies magazine might be a possibility. A stand to sell members’ books at The Marlands is still being debated; this would be for the run-up to Christmas, and volunteers, exact venue and good marketing would be needed.

A new ebook publishing service was discussed. This is described at www.SelfSelfSelf.com by a digital consultant who takes Word-document books and converts them to ebooks for all platforms, with no up-front fee but 15% commission on net takings after other costs. It was decided that some members would take a look, and perhaps check the presentation of ebooks already published by this means.

The next Writing Buddies meeting will be on Friday February 10^th at The Art House Cafe, Southampton from 2pm. Anyone with an interest in writing is very welcome.

Writing Buddies 18th March 2011

The Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House Café on 18 March for a lively discussion to share information on writing matters.

Jacqueline has received a critique for her children’s book and taken note of the comments. She has been busy editing Talking News and is working on a short story for Take a Break magazine. She is entering a humorous poetry competition and has had a letter printed in The Echo. Jacqueline has also been asked to review a book on child abuse. She also mentioned Ether Books www.etherbooks.co.uk .

Sunida joined the group for the first time. She is in her third year at Solent University and wanted advice on how to proceed with writing about the strange experiences she has encountered in her life.

Eileen writes crime books. Her second novel is ready to go to the publishers and she is working on the third. Her first novel, Miss McGuire is Missing, is being reprinted and also being published in large print.

Gunvor is from Sweden and started writing short stories and poems. She wrote a book aimed at eight to twelve year old girls and has also written a sequel. Her third book is different and she is trying to get this one published, so needs advice on this aspect.

Elizabeth has completed the first assignment for The Writers Bureau and is working on the second. She has also been able to write more of her novel.

Jacob has been working on a variety of different things. He is editing one short story and has started another.

Mo has a new reader for her book and has been requested to do a one woman show. She has been actively blogging - see www.loudwomen.blogspot.com, www.themotiononline.couk and Mo's own blog on www.mo-foster.co.uk

Penny's activities include her launch of her book, Haunted Southampton. The evening of ghost stories Penny hosted at Waterstones was a sell out, and she is considering a repeat performance. Her talk at the Civic Centre was plagued with problems. Penny overcame these and emphasised to the group the importance of ascertaining, before-hand, that the equipment provided at a venue is compatible with your own. The page proofs and cover design for her Winchester book are now through. Haunted Southampton is currently no.1 in Waterstones book listings.

Laurel is working on a short story entry for the Bridport Prize. She is also entering a ghost story for a competition in a writing magazine.

Lisa has finished her proofs for Death And The City, books one and two. A producer, from Lymington, is looking for a script based on a female security officer and is very impressed with Death And The City and has contacted Lisa regarding this. Lisa took her book, The Terrible Zombie of Oz to be passed to Andrew Lloyd Webber for his perusal.

John has written one or two reviews and two poems as a result of his visit to Bournemouth, as mentioned at the last meeting.

A general discussion followed covering various topics including the benefits of having a blog, Twitter and Facebook. LinkedIn was mentioned but this is more for professionals.

Sunida was given advice on how to write about her experiences and it was suggested that whether it is written as fact or fiction, is dependent on how much material she has. Another suggestion was a plan for both fiction and non fiction. It was generally agreed that thorough research was needed.

Gunvor is having difficulty placing the two fantasy children’s books she has written, aimed at girls from age 8 – 12. She has been working her way through agents and now contacting publishers. Penny advised her to go straight to a publisher and research those who accept unsolicited manuscripts. Penny stressed the importance of the accuracy of a covering letter and synopsis when sending to a publisher.

Penny confirmed that she will organise a meeting solely about self publishing after Easter. The publication of Wordfall, The Writing Buddies Anthology, is postponed until September.

The date for the group's advertising in The Art House Café window has now been confirmed as being from 15^th May to 24^th June.

More suggestions for display included:

· Book marks

· Flyers

· Banner

· Flip-chart (stories/articles)

· Book-covers

The meeting concluded with Lisa showing members her E Touch Android Tablet, which is a book reader, not storing as many books as a Kindle, but costing less.

Post written by Elizabeth Streatfield.

Writing Buddies, 7th May

Southampton Writing Buddies met at the Art House in Southampton on May 7th. The meeting was, if anything, more lively and information-packed than ever.

Jimmy doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet. His book subtitled Someone Else’s Trousers is due out next May, and he is now well advanced with his sci-fi fantasy book and is working on the synopsis for it. He has also been asked to run a workshop for Southampton Writers’ Circle on writing a synopsis. He has learned that his recent feature about the Vindi Boys in Best of British magazine has generated a lot of interest in the Vindicatrix Association.

Tessa has heard from Legend Press that they are interested in her trilogy The Dohlen Inheritance, and she is currently writing the blurb for the second book. She mentioned a useful website on how to publish e-books – www.markchisnell.com (both his novels are now available as e-books).

Catherine continues to write book reviews for WHSmith on the internet after they contacted her via Twitter. She has just had an article published in a national magazine, and has submitted some flash fiction entries for the Bridport prize. She has also begun the second draft of her one-act play, and posts huge numbers of tweets.

New member Jacqui was welcomed to the group. She has enrolled with the Writers’ Bureau, and is studying fiction. She is still considering which path to take with her writing; she has submitted some short stories to women’s magazines but recognises the narrowness of the market. She had a travel article accepted by a magazine, but much later the editor changed her mind about it. The group talked about the fact that the work was initially accepted, which is a breakthrough and meant that Jacqui can clearly write publishable articles.

Christine has been asked for a second edition of her book on child mental health, and the publishers want to convert it to an e-book. She attended the London Book Fair and discussed print-on-demand for her book on bringing up teenagers. Tessa suggested chipmunka. Christine has begun a book on marital therapy; she has also sent two stories to Writers’ Forum for critiques, and both were highly commended.

Eileen joined the group for the first time. Her first novel (crime) is coming out in July, and the second is ready; Robert Hale publishers want to see the second and third books. She was originally a playwright, and submitted a script for the Orange Prize competition; from the critique she received, she decided to turn it into the novel.

Jacqueline was just completing her latest script for the Eastleigh Talking Echo. She had submitted an article to suite101 and was advised that the content was suitable but alterations to picture captions were needed.

Mo has problems with her publisher; her latest book seems not to be publicly available, and there is ongoing discussion about editing it. She feels that her writing has been slow recently but she is now keen to return to serious work.

Penny is currently working on a book, Haunted Southampton, and has been inundated with contacts via Facebook, both national and international. She has the proofs of Folklore of Hampshire, which is out in July, and is working on a book about Winchester. She has successfully joined suite101 as an author, and had already had two articles published.

There followed general discussion about Twitter, Facebook, blogging, and suite101. There are still places on the Ashtara Writers’ Pamper Day on June 26th – time 9.30-4, £35, which the group felt was good value. The newly opened Writing Buddies Anthology Competition for entries of fiction and non-fiction, poetry and one-act plays was discussed.

The next meeting, on Friday May 21st at 2pm at the Art House, marks the first birthday of the Writing Buddies. To celebrate, there’ll be wine and cake! New members welcome, too, of course.

The Writing Buddies at The Art House

Thanks to Jacquline Pye for these notes:

The Writing Buddies met once again at the Art House, on March 12th; it continues to be a good venue for us.

Richard attended an open mic event at the Art House recently and read some of his work; he was happy with the audience reaction.

Mo is currently writing publicity material for a group of artists in London. Her book “A Blues for Shindig”, about Soho in the 50s, is being brought out again by Exceptionally Independent Publishers. (N.B. Amazon’s UK website stocks this; at the time of writing they had just one copy in stock but were expecting more – the book had top rating by all reviewers.)

Glen continues to write the newsletter for Hamwic Speakers. She recently read one of her poems at a party, and found it was well-received.

Elizabeth received the critique for her story from WriteSpace. It has been very helpful, and as a result she is rewriting the story with a new slant.

Jacqueline has pitched a feature idea to a newspaper’s weekend magazine, and has just finished her latest script for the Eastleigh Talking Echo. She received the critique for her story from Writers’ Forum, which pointed out some details of the plot that needed explaining. She plans to rework the story and submit elsewhere.

Jimmy has sent off his autobiography and awaits a response. Legend Press has invited him to send the first instalment of his novel. He is also working on a short story to be entered in a competition, and the group discussed some of the detail he had included. He is currently struggling with computer problems which he hopes to resolve very soon.

Penny has been taking more photographs for her forthcoming book “Southampton Then and Now” - the publisher’s deadline is close. She has a contract on the way for another book for the History Press; this means she expects to have three books published next year – the group chided her for slacking! She has just been appointed as the official photographer at the Swanage Armed Forces Weekend in June.

Lewis joined the group for the first time. He has been writing for some years, including both poetry and short stories.

In the general discussion, Peter Lovesey’s recent talk at Southampton Writers’ Circle was discussed as being very enjoyable and informative. Many of the group had heard him speak at various venues. The issue of choosing names for characters in fiction threw up a number of ideas, though Jimmy would take the prize for the most inventive names.

Jimmy had thought of a feature idea on his way to the meeting; the group had some fun with this, and possible markets were debated.

A new bimonthly literary magazine was mentioned, Platinum Page, available only on subscription. It does not currently pay authors, but hopes to in the future. Poems and stories may be submitted. It has a mention in the April issue of Writers’ News, and there’s a blog - platinum-page.blogspot.com

The next meeting of Writing Buddies is on Friday 26th March at the Art House. Everyone is welcome.

Our latest meeting

When the Writing Buddies met on 26th February we were a merry bunch. All of us had a lot to say, which is great, and we had been working hard, which is even better.

Pam has been working on her research in Marchwood for Waterside Heritage.

Jacqueline has had an article on postcards accepted for 'possible publication' by Best of British magazine, has pitched to Saga on how to get to sleep at night - ways that work, and is busy working on the Eastleigh Talking Echo.

Christine is working on a story possibly destined for The Lady and a book on why marriages don't work. Her book Child and Adolescent Mental Health has sold out of its second edition.

John is involved in an exhibition of art based on his poetry between 17th and 30th March (see previous post) and has spent a lot of time working to get everything sorted out for a smooth running exhibition. He is actively looking at marketing, which takes up a lot of time.

Silma is revamping stories she wrote for Writers' Magazine competitions and is also working on a children's book. The article accepted by Woman and Home some time ago has still not been published and so she is considering looking at it from a different angle to make it more publishable.

Tom was welcomed to the group. He is currently working on the Writers' Bureau Comprehensive Course and has been writing for most of his life. He has lots of ideas and is very enthusiastic. It was good to see him at the meeting.

Peter is happy with his website and blog and now has 2 followers. He has been doing open mic sessions in Petersfield, Portsmouth and Swindon but would like to find venues for his longer poems. He is producing a booklet of his poetry, The Nails of My Grave and brought along a draft copy for the Writing Buddies to look at.

Glen has been writing short stories and attended a blogging workshop. She has lots of projects to get on with but needs motivation.

Penny had given a talk, on how much fun you can have writing articles, to the Southampton Writers Circle; had run a blogging workshop; was working on her book, Southampton Then and Now and had been kept busy by the Writers' Bureau with a flurry of new students who were eager to pursue New Year Resolutions to write.

The discussion around the table touched on the Winchester Writers Conference and how difficult it was to gain appointments with the experts of your choice. It was commented how long it took to get refunds if you were unable to see who you wanted to see. The 'cliquey' nature of the event was also mentioned and the general consensus of opinion was that the organisers should look at their speakers carefully. The lack of parking and the fact that it was considered to be too big and had outgrown its format were also discussed.

Swanwick and Earnley both won praise for their services to writers, in particular the fact that top named writers attended and it was possible to talk to them.

Different ways to market or publicise work were discussed. Various options were offered around the table, including local radio, small community publications and printing poems and selling them as gifts (as one of the Writing Buddies has done successfully in the past).

Peter marked National Poetry Day by attending an open mic session where Simon Armitage read his work.

In all it was a lively meeting at The Art House, whose staff, as usual, welcomed the Writing Buddies warmly.

The next meeting is Friday 12th March at 2pm. Everyone is welcome.

Twelve Writers at Writing Buddies

The Writing Buddies meeting at The Art House on Friday 29th January was an interesting one. Twelve Writing Buddies turned up, including three new writers who were welcomed into the fold.

Fiona had been enjoying the Creative Writing course run by Kate and Greg Mosse at West Dean, near Chichester, Sussex. The first of three, this one was on plot and characterisation and was, Fiona said, a 'huge revelation'. She said that the course had taught her some hard lessons and she was now going to undertake a massive revision of her novel's 30,000 word skeleton.

Jacqueline has set up her own blog and has been busy practising. She has also started working on setting up a website, but has had trouble with the host and is in the process of trying to sort this out. In the meantime, she has been busy and has sent off an article idea to Best of British magazine, about her collection of teddybear postcards. She has also submitted two poems for critiquing by Writers' Forum magazine, receiving mostly positive feedback. She has also written a memoir and submitted it to a publisher for possible publication.

Tessa was pleased about a very enthusiastic review of her book,

The Dohlen Inheritance, in a German newspaper. German readers, she said, love the book. Legend Press want to see it and she is currently working on the second book, soon to be published in the UK.

John was welcomed into the group. He has recently started to write poetry and is 160,000 words into a trilogy. He has a column writing drama reviews for a local newspaper.

Elizabeth has submitted short stories to Write-Space and to Hampshire View.

Bethyn, another new Writing Buddy, writes short stories, poetry and novels. She commented that when she recently reviewed her work over the last five years, she noticed that her style of writing has changed.

The Writing Buddies welcomed Wendy Hughes as a guest. Wendy has been writing since 1989 and has had over 1700 articles published. She is currently working on her next book, Haunted Worthing. She has recently set up her own website and blog, following her move to Sussex from Walton on Thames, where she founded the Walton Wordsmiths.

Jimmy has sent his autobiography to The History Press, at the request of commissioning editor, Nicola Guy, who was a recent Writing Buddies guest. He has also now finished his sci-fi story, which has twenty chapters and 92,000 words.

The Writing Buddies welcomed Carina, an IT teacher in Southampton. Carina has been writing about British history for a Russian language magazine published in London. Her first book, Legends of World History will be published in Russia in March/April. She has also been commissioned to produce a novella on Boudicca's story, the Queen who revolted against Roman occupation. Carina noted that there was keen interest in history and historical fiction in Russia and the New States.

Penny is busy working on her next book, which has been renamed Southampton Then and Now. She asked the Writing Buddies if any of them had archive photographs of any aspect of life in Southampton, or if they knew of any groups which might be able to help. Several suggestions were forthcoming, which she was grateful for.

The Writing Buddies discussed the local newspaper and its limitations. It was felt generally that it was not sympathetic to writers. It was noted though, that times are hard in the publishing world and advertising revenue is vital to the continued survival of many local papers. Other local publications were also discussed and it was felt generally there there was a shortage of arts coverage in the area.

It was suggested that the Writing Buddies might like to put together an anthology of its work, as a vehicle for publicity, with a local launch. This was discussed but will need much further discussion to make a decision as to whether or not it is viable. Wendy said that this was what Walton Wordsmiths had done and it was very successful. This led to a discussion on self-publishing, copyright issues on the internet and the value of Google alerts.

The subject of website publishing was discussed again. Fiona mentioning that she was very happy with the fact that she had entrusted her site to a professional, which meant that she did not have to worry if there was a problem. It would be taken care of for her.

In all, it was a lively meeting. The Writing Buddies would like to thank our guest, Wendy Hughes, for coming to join us and for the staff at The Art House for having us.

The next meeting is on Friday 12th February at 2pm at The Art House, Southampton. Everyone is welcome.

Writing Buddies at The Art House, Southampton

The first meeting of Writing Buddies in our new home, The Art House, in Southampton, was a complete success! Phew!

Ten writers turned up and all agreed that the new venue was a good one. The fact that the coffee is particularly good and it is brought to the table thoughtfully reserved for us, was a huge bonus!

Christine has been a busy girl! She is busy updating her book, and is working on the WriteSpace short story competition for a 1500 word story on the subject of 'Lost Love'. The closing date is 31 January and the Writing Buddies wish her well.

Mo has been to Berlin reading poetry. She loves the city and has found outlets there for her books, which has pleased her. The fact too that she has just been accepted by the Society of Women Writers and Journalists is cause for celebration too.

It was good to see Elizabeth back again. She has started writing short stories once more and is now also writing a novel.

Glen is waiting to hear if her play will be put on at the Romsey Plaza or if it will be used as a workshop there. She is working on a newsletter, which she has enjoyed interviewing for and editing. She has an agent interested in her novel.

Tessa is still busy editing her second novel. She has been to Germany to promote the first and has received an 'ecstatic' response there. The Dohlen Inheritance was reviewed in a German newspaper and she is now looking for a German publisher. She is seriously considering setting up a website in addition to the blog she has already established. In the meantime, she is wondering what to do with the huge amount of information on knitting she has collected, including garments that she made to illustrate her work. She has published thirteen books on the subject. The University of Southampton, the only academic institution in this country which views knitting as an academic subject - an aspect of topology, the study of knots, are thinking about it.

Jacqueline wrote a ghost story for her grandchildren and told it to them on Christmas Eve. She says the best way to keep on track is to tell someone else you are going to write something and then you have to do it! Jacqueline is also going to send poems to Writers' Forum magazine and is working on her children's detective novel. She badly needs a new chair, as the one she balances her cushions on when she writes is giving her a bad back. Several other Writing Buddies empathised.

Jimmy announced that he was sending the manuscript of his autobiography to Nicola Guy, our guest from The History Press just before Christmas. He and his son are busy editing it now. Jimmy has also been talking about a book on the history of Eastleigh with Nicola and is awaiting news on this. He has sent in entries to the Riptide Competition he read about in The Woman Writer magazine. He was rejected by Legend Press but was very pleased with his article, on his time as a Vindi Boy, which appeared in the January edition of Best of British magazine.

Peter is very happy with his blog and website, which he recently had set up for him. He is now going to have some business cards printed. He is off to Portsmouth and Petersfield, to open mic sessions at the end of January. He is looking at self publishing some of his work and has been to see a printer about this. Peter won first and second prizes at an internal poetry competition at the Poole Poetry Group, which he says was both 'a boost and chastening' at the same time.

The Writing Buddies welcomed Silma to the meeting. She lives in New Milton and is working on a fantasy story for 7 - 9 year olds. She has written several unpublished short stories. She has had an article accepted by Woman and Home but, as yet, has not seen it published. She asked the group's advice about this and there was a discussion on kill fees.

Penny had finished her Folklore of Hampshire book and delivered it to the publisher. She was busy working on The Woman Writer magazine for the SWWJ and had started working on her next books.

As usual the chat over the excellent coffee was of a varied nature. Tessa had been given a Kindle for Christmas and reported that it was difficult to load it with new material as the formatting was lost. Books have to be specifically aimed at the Kindle for it to accept them properly. It was, she said, easy to read from. She can makes notes on it but could not edit her own work.

In the wake of the closure of Borders, it was noted that Waterstones is reported to be struggling.

Christine was off to the Short Story Slam in Winchester and those who had taken part in this kind of event offered advice. All seemed to think they were good fun.

Marketing, its difficulties and how those authors about the table went about it took up a large part of the discussion. The traditional publishing versus self-publication debate continued, with Print on Demand generally felt to be the way publishing was heading. The importance of the web in marketing was discussed and there will be a workshop on setting up a blog at a Writing Buddies meeting soon.

Carole Ann Duffy, it was felt, had raised the profile of poetry generally by bringing it into the public eye more. Elizabeth noted that there was a poetry competition coming up at the Southampton Writers' Circle in March.

In all, it was a lively meeting, in a good venue and all the Writing Buddies enjoyed it.

The next meeting is at 2pm on Friday 29th January at The Art House, 178 Above Bar Street, Southampton. Everyone is welcome.

The Writing Buddies have a new home!

It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Writing Buddies are about to move into their new home.

As readers of this blog will know, Writing Buddies were happily meeting at Borders in Southampton. This arrangement came to an abrupt end when the chain collapsed at the end of 2009. Since then we have been homeless. The central library stepped in and offered us a temporary home, which we gratefully accepted for our last meeting of the year, when Nicola Guy, Commissioning Editor from The History Press, joined us. Now though, it is time to sort out a more permanent arrangement.

We had offers of a home from several venues and it is with real gratitude that I thank all those who offered their premises to host our meetings. The final choice was difficult but I am pleased to say that, at last, Writing Buddies has a new home.

The next meeting will be tomorrow, Friday 15th January 2010, at 2 pm at The Art House Cafe, 178 Above Bar Street, Southampton, SO14 7DW. Telephone number 023 80 238582. This venue offers vegetarian refreshments (please note that it does not take cards, only cash), is close to public transport links, is free and can accommodate us at the time that we wish to meet.

The next meeting will be on Friday 29th January at 2 pm at The Art House Cafe as above, when we will be welcoming prolific author, Wendy Hughes.

If you fancy joining in the chat over a refreshing cuppa, please do come along to Writing Buddies. You will be very welcome.